“Finally I can do sport again without thinking about urinary incontinence.”
Sandrine Nail-Billaud is kind of a French version of Wonderwoman! Pharmacist during the day, she wears her marathon suit at night, and she also writes for specialized magazines like “ Running pour Elles ” (a French magazine about running for women). Oh, and Sandrine has 3 children with whom she shares her love for running! (we wonder if she ever sleeps at night).But like 1 in 10 women, Sandrine suffers from urinary incontinence, which affects her every day. For this reason, she started using the Emy Kegel trainer which helped her doing sport again without worrying about urinary incontinence.
How did you deal with urinary incontinence?
My urinary leaks appeared when I was pregnant for the first time and then a bit afterwards. I had 2 more children, so I assume my postnatal recovery wasn’t done correctly.
When did you notice that you had urinary leaks?
When I started running, my urine losses became a REAL problem. But I also suffered from urinary leakage when I coughed, sneezed, laughed, or while rope skipping.
How could you reconcile sport and urinary incontinence?
First of all, I chose which sport I will do. There is no way I will do rope skipping or jumping on a trampoline because I can not control my urinary leaks.
Regarding running, the time of day I go for a run changes everything. If it’s early in the morning, I know I won’t have much trouble. If I run on soft ground, I can control my urine leaks. Whereas if I run on a road or a track, it is a catastrophe.
After 5 pm, I know I will have far more leaks. It is also linked to my period, I think because of the hormonal changes that happens the days before it starts.
Anyway, I anticipate my training sessions. I have tried everything. Some friends told me to try tampons that were supposed to help me and to stop my urinary incontinence problems while running. Besides, I also tried specific urinary protection. However, over long distances, the protection ends up being filled. That’s not very comfortable, it creates friction.
What is the most constraining aspect of urinary leaks?
When we do sports sessions, the worst thing about urinary incontinence is the smell at the end of it. It is a terrible smell. Especially, when I finish a run and I have to take public transports to go home or take the car with someone; I have to cover the seat. So, at the end I changed my sport sessions to do them alone.
What is your feedback since you started using Emy?
I had the chance to use the Emy Kegel trainer. Emy is amazing and entertaining with great liberty of use. I train my pelvic floor with Emy 3 times a week for 5 minutes. Since then, my sessions changed completely! Far less urinary leaks, less stress when I am running with others, and taking the car with them. Things really changed even though I still take some precautions. But overall things have changed, that’s for sure!
